Metacheyletia ngaii, Bochkov & Skoracki, 2011

Bochkov, A. V. & Skoracki, M., 2011, A New Cheyletid Mite Metacheyletia Ngaii N. Sp. (Acariformes: Cheyletidae) From Quills Of Corythaixoides Leucogaster (Musophagidae) From Tanzania, Acarologia 51 (1), pp. 93-97 : 94-96

Metacheyletia ngaii n. sp.

( Figures 1 and 2 )

Description — Female (holotype) — Gnathosoma 90 long (90 in 1 paratype) and 115 wide (120). Peritremes arch-like, each peritremal branch with 7–8 segments. Palpal femur 40 long (40) and 37 wide (35). Palpal claw with 1 basal tooth. Palpal setation: palpal femur – dF; palpal genu – dG; palpal tibia – dTi, l’Ti, l"Ti; palpal tarsus – smooth eupathidia amc, sul, ul’, ul", and solenidion ω1. Subcapitular setae n absent, adoral setae ao1, ao2, and subcoxal setae elcp present. Idiosoma 495 long (585) and 355 wide (415), ovoid. Propodonotal shield indistinct. No cupules observed. All idiosomal setae smooth filiform. Setae vi 2 times shorter than ve; setae si and d2 1.4– 1.5 times shorter than se and e2; c1 and d1 about 2 times longer than d2; setae c1 longer than distance between setal bases c1 and d1; setae h1 and h2 subequal. Three pairs of pseudogenital (ps1–ps3), 2 pairs of genital (g1 and g2), and 3 pairs of aggenital (ag1– ag3) setae present. Lengths of setae: vi 30 (35), ve 65 (70), si 50, se 70 (70), c1 130, c2 120 (125), d1 120 (115), d2 50 (65), e2 80 (75), f2 65 (75), h1 120 (115), h2 115 (120), ps1–ps3 23–25, g1 and g2 24–25, ag1–ag3 23– 27, 1a 35 (35), 1b 45 (55), 3a 35 (35). Setae 4a absent. Legs IV completely absent. Leg I–IV setation: I – tarsus with 7 setae (ft, tc’, tc", p’, p", u’, u") + solenidion ω1, tibia with 4 setae (d, l’, l", v) + solenidion ’, genu with 1 seta (l’) + solenidion σ, femur with 2 setae (dF and vF), trochanter without setae, coxal field with 1 seta (1b); II – tarsus with 5 setae (tc’, tc", p’, u’, u") + solenidion ω1, tibia with 4 setae (d, l’, l", v), genu with 1 seta (l’), femur with 2 setae (dF and vF), trochanter and coxal field without setae; III – tarsus with 5 setae (tc’, tc", p’, u’, u"), tibia with 4 setae (d, l’, l", v), genu with 1 seta (l’), femur with 1 seta (dF), trochanter and coxal field without setae.

Male — Unknown.

Type Material — Holotype female and female paratype from Corythaixoides leucogaster (Rüppell, 1842) (Cuculiformes: Musophagidae ), Tanzania: Tanganyika, 23 March 1960, coll. unknown.

Type deposition — All material is deposited in the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia .

Etymology — This new species is dedicated to the Maasai God – Ngai, the creator of everything.

Differential diagnosis. This new species is morphologically closest to M. degenerata . In females of both species, three pairs of aggenital setae are present and the propodonotal shield is indistinct. It differs from M. degenerata by the following features. In females of M. ngaii n. sp., setae vi are two times shorter than ve, setae d2 are two times shorter than d1, setae h1 and h2 are subequal, setae c1, d1, and e2 are 130, 115–120, and 75–80 long, respectively. In females of M. degenerata , setae vi are 1.1–1.2 times shorter than ve, setae d1 and d2 are subequal, setae h1 are about 1.3 times shorter than h2, setae c1, d1, and e2 are 65, 60, and 50 long, respectively.

Remarks — The genus Metacheyletia is, probably, initially associated with parrots, because its representatives inhabit these hosts in Africa and South America. Unfortunately these mites are unknown from Australia, and records of Metacheyletia spp. from the Australian parrots would be very desirable as an additional prove of this hypothesis. The two species of this genus from non-parrot hosts, M. degenerata and M. ngaii , are still known exclusively from central Africa and morphologically very close to each other. Parrots are widely distributed in central Africa and, therefore, we suggest that in this region, mites of the genus Metacheyletia shifted on a non-parrot host from a parrot with the following dispersion and speciation on birds of different nonparrot orders.

Figures

FIGURE 1: Metacheyletia ngaii sp. nov., holotype female. A – Dorsal view. B – Ventral view.

FIGURE 2: Metacheyletia ngaii sp. nov., details of holotype female. A – Peritremal branch. B – Palpal tibiotarsus in dorsal view. C – Same in ventral view. D – Tarsus I in dorsal view. E – Same in ventral view. F – Tarsus II in dorsal view. G – Same in ventral view. H – Tarsus III in dorsal view. I – Same in ventral view. J – Leg III in ventral view. Scale bars: A-I = 20 µm; J = 50 µm.